by White Wolf (Phil Shapley)
When today’s society or Native ways hinder people realizing the Creator’s joy, He intervenes.
Background—the purpose of the Creation
The Earth was organized by the Lord to enable Man (and all the Creation) to have experiences in a physical body on a physical earth, experiences which are necessary for people to learn and grow, and in turn, qualify for the best post death life in the spirit world.* This is expressed well by God in the Book of Moses 1: 39**: “this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man”. Through these experiences, the Creator gives a person the opportunity to so develop, refine himself, that God (Heavenly Father and His son Jesus Christ), can share all that He, God, has with that person—that is, a person can dwell in the most beautiful heaven…*** He/she lives with Christ where there is the greatest beauty, love, happiness, all knowledge and Man can share all that God has, including His creative powers!! No greater gift could be given! To have such, is called Eternal Life—God’s life.
But in order to receive this greatest of all gifts, Man must qualify. To help us, the Creator has given teachings and requirements (Commandments) that enable us to develop our most noble qualities. He has sent Prophets and teachers to teach us. But it is up to each person to decide whether he will learn and thus qualify for the greater Blessings offered— including Eternal Life.
Sin must be overcome to obtain Eternal Life and many lesser benefits
One of the requirements is that no unclean person can dwell in the presence of God, or can realize many other Blessings. An unclean person is one that has done wrong, has sinned, has violated the Commandments. We all have done this to a greater or lesser extent and thus do not qualify for many Blessings, including the greatest, Eternal Life.
There is a further problem connected with misdeeds. Sin generates negative energy which hurts all the Creation. The spirits in the Creation demand justice, a penalty is imposed for each harm done. Further, even if we paid the hard to bare penalties, this still would not be enough for us to qualify for the greatest Blessings.
The Creator in His infinite love and wisdom, developed a way to cleanse us of our sins, misdeeds, mistakes and make all Blessings available. Jesus Christ, Heavenly Father’s son, paid, suffered the penalties attached to each of our individual sins so that we can become clean.. How this was possible, is hard to understand but I know this happened! With time I have gained some comprehension (see the paper The Basic Truths Behind Christ’s Teachings). Christ did all this through indescribable suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane and on the Cross. He sweat drops of blood (Luke 22: 44 and LDS D&C 19; 18). With His great sacrifice and our accepting Christ, repenting and living His teachings, we become clean and can in the post-Earth life live in the presence of God forever and receive all Blessings previously described. In the mean time while we dwell on Earth, we feel the burden of sin lifted from us and qualify for His spirit which comforts and guides us.
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* The non-human spirits also learn and grow in their Earth experience.
** Book of Moses in The Pearl of Great Price, a Latter Day Saint (LDS) scripture.
*** There are three Heavens: the Telestial is the lowest, Terrestrial in the middle, and the Celestial being the highest were God dwells (1 Corinthians 15: 40-42, 2 Corinthians 12: 2 and LDS Doctrine and Covenants (D&C) Section 76). To qualify for the two higher Heavens and the great Blessings, we must accept Christ and our sins must be paid for by Him. To enter the Celestial and receive the most beautiful Blessings, you must make and keep sacred Covenants (see your local LDS Missionaries). People who themselves pay for their sins, can only receive Telestial benefits.
**** The Lord withholds the confirmation of most spiritual truth through scientific investigation because most investigators would not adequately respect it. Once you learn something sacred, you are responsible. Thus, withholding is a kindness. Spiritual truth is available to those who will respect it and seek to live it.
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What concerns, upsets God
God is very concerned when barriers arise which interfere with people being able to realize their greater potential, especially Eternal Life. This concern arises:
- Because Heavenly Father through His son, Jesus Christ, went to the difficult work of creating Mother Earth so man could improve and many qualify for Eternal Life, the life of God, and if not this, for lesser but still great Blessings.
- Jesus Christ suffered greatly so that the sin of each person could be forgiven and they could qualify for great benefits.
With this meaning so much to God, He acts to remove barriers that interfere with people choosing to realize their potential for great happiness and Eternal Life. But this does not mean that God desires for us to have an easy life—we need challenges and some hardship and suffering to develop our full potential and to become strong in faith.
There are barriers to Eternal Life in modern society and in Traditional Aboriginal living. These are dealt with next.
Barriers in modern society
There are many barriers in the modern world to a person progressing spiritually, including:
- the attractions of consumerism and materialism take people away from the spiritual;
- the rampant sexuality and pornography that traps people;
- drugs and alcohol which are addictive;
- many people won’t accept something unless scientific investigation confirms it but the existence of the spiritual and spiritual truths aren’t readily confirmed by this investigation as it is practiced;****
- a wide spread skeptical attitude, especially present in science and the universities where narrowed minded intellectualism is supreme;
- the flouting of moral values;
- self-centeredness, seeking the easy profit, the easy way…………..;
- Satan working hard to deceive and destroy the work of God.
The above and other things in the modern world seriously distract people from considering spiritual matters. But these distractions can also serve a good purpose—dealing with them can strengthen spiritual seekers. As a consequence, the Creator, before acting, looks at the balance of positive and negative effects as they affect the spiritual growth of people.
What God does in modern society
The Creator does not want to destroy modern society provided choice spirits (those people who have it in their basic nature to become great) can resist evil and grow. Such a society:
- Permits the seekers of good to observe in a powerful way, the consequences of evil and thus, increases their desire for God’s ways;
- Leads many people to turn to their God which strengthens them in the ‘good way’ and makes them strong in spirit and faith;
- This society is a great refiner of those that seek righteousness.
Modern society contains its’ own seeds of self-destruction:
- Greed, dishonesty, theft…. lead to disruption and decline—for instance, the present-day financial crisis;
- Criminal elements such as those in the drug trade, cause the collapse of civil rule;
- A short-term view predominates— for example, we don’t move from being dependent on the car and oil despite environmental warming, the quick profit is sought………
- Exhaustion of and pollution of soil and water, overharvesting of fish, trees, etc.;
- Political corruption;
- The decline of families which are the backbone of stable societies.
Further speeding the decline, is the disruption of Nature because of all the negative energy generated by evil—extremes in weather, earthquakes, declining biological productivity, declining populations……
The Creator is also doing much to help people progress:
- Though all places may have calamities, the Lord generates or allows additional ones where evil is so entrenched and people are unlikely to repent without a ‘push’. In the Old Testament and in the Book of Mormon, when this happened, many times people repented and returned to their God and His ways. Then He was able to help and prosper them.
- In the Old Testament where there was much deep rooted evil, populations were destroyed, such as in Sodom and Gomorra. The Israelites were told to totally destroy cities when evil was fully in control and there was little opportunity to learn righteousness. Perhaps this explains why evil New Orleans was demolished by a hurricane.
Modern society will not prosper long with its’ entrenched evil. But the Creator will support places where people can grow in righteousness.
Barriers in Traditional Aboriginal societies
These societies include North American Indian cultures and the Aborigines of Australia. These people are often strongly connected with the spirits of Nature, the great Oneness and with their Creator. Many benefit greatly from these spiritual relationships:
- After a request, Nature and/or the Creator provide for their physical, medical, food and psychic needs;
- They mostly have a peaceful, respectful relationship with Nature and their Creator;
- Many of them have a very respectful, loving relationship with each other;
- They feel at peace and connected with Nature and their Creator.
This is all beautiful and wonderful, many have obtained a high level of refinement, love, respect and nobility. This is particularly evident in Mutant Message Down Under by Dr. Maro Morgan who went on a long walk- about with Australian Aborigines. Though this book is written as a story, I am convinced it describes what happened. Some Natives do so well that they are content and don’t explore further—they aren’t aware of their sin and of Jesus Christ in a deep way though they know there is a loving Creator. They must become fully aware of Christ and sin if they are to have the greater Blessings, especially Eternal Life, all of which last forever. The apparently idyllic life of the past must be interrupted enough that Natives further seek to their Creator, Jesus Christ.* As other people, they must fully accept Jesus, have their sins forgiven and receive the extra refining that comes from an intense focused relationship with Christ and of living His specific teachings, and finally, they must make sacred covenants to serve Him. White Buffalo will lead North American Natives to these important covenants. Then they can qualify for Eternal Life and other great Blessings.
With all the effort Christ put into the Creation and His suffering so our sins could be forgiven, Heavenly Father and Christ work to modify the environment around people to help them learn more of Christ and give them the opportunity to learn and live His teachings. All of this is important in determining their happiness in the after life in the spirit world, a life that goes on forever.
The decline of Aboriginal cultures
North American and Australian societies have and are much contributing to the decline of traditional cultures. Though some Native American nations were living at an advanced level (some weren’t), they did not have enough knowledge of Christ to receive adequate protection from the invaders and to fully understand Christ.. This partially explains what happened. The Lord thought it wise to provide certain experiences, some harsh, so that in the after life in the spirit world, many would be ready to fully come to Christ. The experiences include seeing the evils of Western and modern ‘civilization’. Visionaries see large numbers of Natives turning to the Lord in the after life. At the present, the Lord supports those who develop a close relationship with Jesus Christ. He is also increasingly supporting Native and Aboriginals in their conflicts with greater society and in ways that help them grow spiritually. There is also compensation for the brutalization they suffered, and Natives are gaining power over non-Natives who are not close to Christ—roles are being reversed! For more, see the ** footnote.
Review and conclusion
The Creator organized Mother Earth so that spiritual beings, awarenesses, could gain experiences in a physical body that would help them advance. The Lord is especially interested in humans qualifying for Eternal Life, that is, being able to live with God and sharing all God has-- this brings the greatest happiness. There are other benefits to the whole Universe which are too deep to be explained here.
In his Earth life, people are accountable, make mistakes and are disobedient to the Creator’s requests. This sin generates negative energy that hurts all the spirits in the Creation. Nature demands a penalty for the hurt and disobedience—Nature has been obedient.
For a person to obtain Eternal Life, and if not this, many lesser but still wonderful benefits, the penalties attached to sin must be paid. Christ through His suffering of these penalties, paid the cost of them and we can become cleansed of sin. We can be free of the intense suffering the penalties cause if we accept Christ, repent and work to live His teachings. Only in and through Christ can we receive the most wonderful Blessings, including Eternal Life (sharing all God has).
Modern Society and Traditional Aboriginal and Native cultures contain greater and lesser barriers to fully accepting Christ and His teachings. The Lord works in these cultures to maximize the opportunity of people to choose to fully accept Christ in this life or in the after death life in the spirit world. By doing such, He increases the opportunity we have of making the right choices in Earth life or later in the after life before the Judgment, and thus, of realizing great benefits and indescribable happiness, especially Eternal Life. At times, what happens in Earth life seems harsh, but an all wise God knows what is needed for the largest number of us to learn and to make the ‘right’ choices which end in us obtaining everlasting joy, the greatest happiness. Often hardship is required before we seek Christ and can realize Blessings. To repeat, visionaries see many Natives accepting in the post-Earth spirit world and qualifying for Blessings.
In conclusion, modern society and Traditional Aboriginal, Native culture, will only survive when they serve to bring people to Christ. Otherwise, the Lord will modify them and if they are very evil, destroy them if they are not already destroying themselves by failing to live the ways that insure long term survival, the Lord’s ways.
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* It is hoped we don’t loose the Native understanding and respect of the spirituality of the Creation, the relationship between the spirits in Nature and between man and Nature. This knowledge when applied, leads to more environmental protection and less degradation, increased biological yields and productivity, more stable populations………. When a person advances to a high spiritual level, he will acquire this knowledge.
** As pointed out in the paper Natives are a Chosen People of the Lord, North American Native are descendants of Joseph, the Tribe of Israel with the greatest potential. They are very important to the Lord. In the after life before the Judgment, many will accept Christ and qualify for Eternal Life. They will become a very Blessed people. But in the mean time, most Natives, like the rest of us, need to go through lesser or greater harsh experiences to wake up, learn, choose to develop and in turn, realize our potential. The Lord has not withheld necessary tough learning required so that in the end, many choose great everlasting happiness. Visionaries see many Native people accepting and qualifying in the after life in the spirit world.
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